Discovering the Yangtze River and Zhangjiajie

This is the first day of the trip and it includes getting to the Zhangjiajie airport, and the preparation for the trip. Each visitor will be given a Chinese cell phone for rental. These phones have to be returned to the guide at the end of the trip. They do not operate in the Hong Kong area so they should be returned prior to getting there. It comes with the standard free 30 or 60 minutes of conversation and can be used normally as any other cell phone in China.

After the breakfast, the first stop is the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. It covers an area of 11880 acres with 97% forest coverage.Concentrating beauty, primitivity, quiet as a whole, with peculiar stones and brooks, this park is the labyrinth of nature and origin edition of Chinese painting. The forest park has 98 wood plant families which include 517 species. Half of the gymnosperm species can be found in the forest park.Also, there is a Bailong Sightseeing Elevator. This is the fastest and the highest sightseeing elevator in the world. It can carry some 3000 people per hour on the height of 335 metres. The trip to the top of the mountain takes only 2 minutes. After this, the visitors are taken to the walk along Jinbioan Brook and this is quite refreshing experience since besides this 7.5 kilometres brook, many interesting things can be seen. A pair of good hiking boots would be more than handy in this situation. This woodland area is well known for its peace and quiet and any tourist who lives in the crowded city will be more than thrilled with it. Meals: breakfast and Chinese lunch.

Mt. Tianmenshan is well known for its beauty. It covers an area of 11880 acres with 97% forest coverage.Concentrating beauty, primitivity, quiet as a whole, with peculiar stones and brooks, this park is the labyrinth of nature and origin edition of Chinese painting. The forest park has 98 wood plant families which include 517 species. Half of the gymnosperm species can be found in the forest park. Meals: breakfast and the Chinese lunch

The panda room is situated in the Chongquing Zoo. This is one of the biggest zoos in China and it is full of the marvellous and rare animals. Amongst many others, the Pandas are pretty much the biggest attraction since both regular and giant Panda bears can be seen here together with their offspring. Also, the local folk come to the zoo to practice Tai Chi and you are more than welcome to join them. The visit to the zoo lasts 2 hours. After that the tour goes to the Goose Neck Park. This is a very peaceful place where the local people come to play Mah Jong or simply to relax. The time for the visit is 1 hour. Later on the tour goes to the Three Gorges Museum. This place is pretty interesting and you can see a lot of the exhibited items connected to the famous Three Gorges Dam and the Yangtze River. Also, some really impressive terracotta and stone sculptures can be seen there. The time for visit is limited to two hours here. The next stop is Ciqikou Old Town. It is a lovely place that kept all of the charms of the old China. It is pretty much available to try all sorts of local delicacies there since it is full of the tea houses and local snack bars. The visiting time is 1.5 hours. The last sightseeing stop of the day is the Chongqing National Arts Institute Gallery. This place is famous for many traditional and oil paintings and has become rather popular amongst the tourists due to the abundance of fresh and original art pieces available there. The last stop of the day is the lunch at the local Restaurant. After that, head to the dock and board on the ship to Yangtze River. Meals: breakfast at your hotel,lunch at local Chinese Restaurant.

--Shibaozhai, literally means Stone Treasure Fortress, Located in Zhong County, it was first built in Qing Dynasty in 1750. Shibaozhai is one historic site that will look much different in 2009. The wooden architecture stands on the riverside. It is built by catch upon a rectangular rock with sheer cliffs with a height of 56 meters and 12 stories. And every floor of the wooden structure contains interesting artifacts. Each of the 12 floors of Shibaozhai is dedicated to a famous general of the Three Kingdoms period (220-265AD), a local scholar or a renowned Chinese poet.

--Taichi exercise.
Passes through the 1st gorge--Qutang Gorge.
Passes through the 2cd gorge---Wu Gorge.
Shore excursion to Shennong Stream(1:30pm-5:30pm). You have the option of visiting White Emperor City(RMB290 per person).
Crew's Performance.
Sails through the 5-steps Ship locks.
Shennong Stream is another tributary of the Yangtze River, and its fast-flowing, crystal clear water runs southwards through deep gorges. The stream races past large and small karst caves, flocks of swallows, sheer cliffs, deep gorges, waterfalls, three-colored springs, rapids, the ancient plank path, a suspended coffin in the cliff, groups of ancient tombs and marvelous karst formations.

- Half Day Bangkok City Temple Tour: Breakfast at hotel and then sightseeing tour to visit: At first visit to Wat Traimit, the Temple of the Golden Buddha, the temple is famous for its 900-years old five-and-a-half-ton solid gold image, and then continue to visit Wat Arun, perhaps better known as the Temple of the Dawn, is one of the best known landmarks and one of the most published images of Bangkok. After that, visit to Wat Po, the largest and oldest temple in Bangkok, as well as the largest single Buddha image: the Reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas), also known as Wat Phra Chetuphon or The Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The temple is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage Reclining Buddha. After this place we back to the hotel and free at leisure or go shopping in the afternoon.
--Shore excursion to The Three Gorges Dam Site. Arrive in Yichang at 1:00pm.
Three Gorges Dam, the largest water conservancy project ever undertaken by man and it has been a dream for several generations of Chinese people. The construction of the dam formally began in 1994. The body of the dam was completed in 2003, and the whole construction has been completed in 2009. It will be 2,335 meters long, 185 meters high, 18 meters wide on the top and 130 meters wide at the bottom. The tourists can get access to the top of the dam and enjoy different kinds of photo opportunities.